First, in the world, The ongoing competition for first place among Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, and Scottie Scheffler “speaks to the quality of the game of golf right now,” according to Rahm.
With his victory at Riviera two weeks ago, Spain’s Rahm reclaimed the top spot in the standings. This was his third US PGA Tour victory of 2023, which allowed him to surpass Scheffler, the current Masters champion. Just a week before, Scheffler had reclaimed the top spot after displacing McIlroy following his victory at the Phoenix Open.
In the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida, where Rahm stated on Tuesday that the tight competition at the top was a monument to the present state of the game, both Scheffler, who is ranked second, and McIlroy, who is rated third, have a chance to reclaim the top spot this week.
“I do know this is the most significant change in this short period of time,” Rahm said. Rahm stated, “I saw some of those data because they’re just extremely interesting, and it speaks to the quality of the game of golf right now and how well everyone’s been playing.
Rahm has been in excellent form. His victory in the Genesis Invitational at Riviera marked his fifth win in nine international starts, a streak that also saw him win the DP World Tour Championship in November and his third victory at the Spanish Open in October.
He began 2023 by winning the American Express in La Quinta, California, and the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii on the US Tour. Rahm claimed that he didn’t “need a rating to justify anything” after defeating Max Homa by two shots to reclaim the top spot for the first time since March 2022.
Yet he conceded on Tuesday that being ranked first when other players have been playing excellent golf also brings “a lot of happiness. The speaker said, “Scottie and Rory had incredible years last year, and then toward the end of the year I kind of picked up.” Rahm was also happy to win and return to the top.
The speaker added, “I think one of those times that I got to it was after, I think it was (Justin Thomas) had a terrible finish, and I finished 10th in a tournament and you get back to number one.” That doesn’t feel as good as it should.
In just his second start at Bay Hill, where he tied for 17th last year despite having what he described as a “terrible, horrible week on the greens,” Rahm leads a group that includes 43 of the top 50 players in the world.
Rahm recounted, “On the back nine on Sunday, I made four three-putts alone.” I feel really encouraged knowing that I have a shot if I can maintain the quality of ball striking that I know I’m capable of and have a good week on the greens.
The current champion is Scheffler. Under difficult fourth-round conditions, he eked out a one-stroke triumph, his second in three starts after winning his first professional title in Phoenix just a few weeks before.
